WOMEN OF THE BIBLE: DEBORAH'S STORY

Author: Ann Burton ISBN: 0451219139 8/2006 HISTORICAL Publisher: SIGNET
Time Period: Bibilical

Though Deborah's master has abused her for as long as she can remember, there is one thing he cannot take from her—her nightly dream of a stranger destined to bring her joy. Then, by a twist of fate and with an act of courage, Deborah manages to save the life of Lappidoth, the man she soon realizes is her dream lover, by warning him that her master is plotting against him. Furious, Deborah's master sentences her to death. But Lappidoth saves her life. Now, as she recovers in his house, Deborah's dreams all come to pass—so she puts her gift to use. And so will Deborah be known as a heroine in Israel's fight against the Canaanites, a prophetess for God's chosen people, and one of the greatest judges of all time....

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

In WOMEN OF THE BIBLE: DEBORAH'S STORY, Ann Burton does something that I have rarely seen done with Biblical characters—she brought Deborah to life and told her story the way that she saw it. She gave Deborah a face and a voice, and made her real to me. Having never before read about Deborah, I was shocked to read about what a wonderful tool she was for the Lord and how well she fit her role as a prophet for Him.

Deborah begins her journey as a slave to an evil master, being treated like less than an animal and sleeping in a barn with no blanket and hardly any food to warm her belly. The one thing allows her to keep her faith and her hope, are the dreams that she has of a man named Lappidoth, a man that her mother told her about long ago in a dream. Her mother has told her that the decisions she makes concerning this man will be a matter of life or death, and she discovers that this is the very essence of truth. Deborah is what people in that time called a seer. She can touch someone and know their whole history and what their lives will become. It is the one thing that she has kept from her master all these long years, so that he doesn't kill her like he did her mother. When Lappidoth, or Jeth as he is called, comes to her master's house looking to buy cattle, Deborah recognizes his voice from the dreams that she has had. She goes to him to try to help him, and ultimately changes the entire path of her life.

Never before have I read about a Biblical character that came to life so efficiently before my eyes. I cried actual tears as I read about the trials and tribulations that speckled Deborah's life, and then cried again as her true purpose in life was revealed to her. Ann Burton has told a beautiful and moving story with this book. I am truly looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series, and seeing the great works of these warriors for Christ.

Kristal Gorman